Falling For My Boss

Chapter 10

~~~Y/N’s POV~~~
When I woke up this morning, I was already nervous. I haven't seen Hailee since the night before last when Flo cooked for us, and for some reason I can't shake the feeling that something has changed. I'm turning into the driveway when I receive a text from her.
HS: Hey, when you get here, we're out back doing some post- workout yoga.
I don't reply, seeing as I'm already here, and I just head through the house to the backyard. I almost drop her coffee when I see her and Flo, both of them facing the pool, and bent over, doing some sort of pose. I can see every muscle in Hailee’s legs through her leggings. I recover as quickly as I can and call over to them.
"I'm here! I didn't get an order for Flo, should I make you something?" Flo stands up and turns to me.
"You would absolutely ruin my tea, but thanks."
"Hey now, I watched your instagram story on how to make tea," I chide. "I could probably do it, although I hated it when I tried it myself."
"How could you hate tea?" she asks, incredulous.
"I hate coffee too, but at least it smells good," I tease her, walking over to hand Hailee her drink. When she stands up to take it from me, I have to force myself not to look at her waist. She's in leggings and a sports bra, which I've seen her in before, and I thought I got better at not noticing so much, but ever since Vogue it's like I can't keep my eyes off of her. Plus, she’s still a little sweaty, and her muscles are so toned. Fuck, it is way too early to feel so much heat rushing through my body.
"Thanks," She eyes me warily. "You okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You have nervous energy." She shrugs and turns to Flo. "Wanna head inside?"
"Sure, I'll show this one what real tea tastes like." She looks at me, "I bet I can make you like it." At which I can't help snickering, so she glares at me. "Cheeky." The three of us head into the kitchen and Flo gets to work making her tea. I get myself a glass of orange juice and sit at the island next to Hailee.
"So, is Flo joining us at the studio today?"
"Yeah, I was kind of hoping you both would do some vocals for me, just to hear what it'll sound like with the harmonies."
"Okay cool." It's something I've done before, when a song is in the preliminary stages. I'm pretty excited to sing with Flo too.
"Don't worry, I won't actually put you on the track," She pauses and meets my eye. "Unless you want me to."
"Oh, no. I like just doing it for fun."
"You sure? I'd pay you."
"I'm sure, Boss." I wink at her, and she hits my shoulder playfully.
"You are cheeky today." I shrug at her and call for a car to pick us up and take us to the studio, where we end up spending the entire day working on a couple of new songs. We've just finished nailing down the harmonies on one chorus when Flo looks at her phone.
"Oh shit!"
"What?" I ask, my brow furrowing.
"You'll find out any minute now. Do you have your work phone?"
"Uh, yes?" I glance at Hailee hoping she'll give me some idea of what Flo is talking about, but she just shrugs. Before I can ask for a clarification, my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. I hold it up toward Hailee and step out to take the call.
"Hey! Just calling to let you know that you did indeed get the part."
"Oh, hey Mr. Feige!" I had almost forgotten about the audition with all of the other things going on in my head."Uh, that's amazing! What happens now?"
"Well since you'll already be working so closely with the production team, Hailee got the paperwork signed forever ago. The only thing I'll need from you before we shoot is a signature on a performer contract and a fitting. I will see that they schedule you with Hailee since you'll be here anyway for her. So, just keep an eye out for texts from my team, okay?"
"Absolutely. Thank you so much."
"Of course. See you soon."
"Bye!" He ends the call and I feel the air leave my lungs. This is happening. Holy shit. I try to hold it together when I walk back in, but it's evident that Flo already told Hailee, as they both squeal excitedly when I open the door.
"I told you!" Hailee says, smiling widely at me.
"Honestly, y/n, I read with like 5 other women, and I am so glad they picked you." Flo grabs my arm and squeezes gently.
"Thanks, Flo. I can't help but feel a little guilty that Hailee got me the audition though," I say, not quite meeting either of their eyes.
"Y/N, take opportunities to use your connections. It sucks, but that's how Hollywood is anymore. If we can make things easier for people we think are talented, we will." Florence looks at Hailee for confirmation.
"It does kind of suck, but she's right." Hailee meets my eyes with a soft smile. I shake my shoulders and jump up and down a little bit.
"Okay. Shaking off the anxiety." I grin at them.
"Who thinks we should quit for the day and go celebrate?" Hailee scrunches her face at me, and I feel my cheeks getting warm.
"Hell yes." Florence grabs her purse and starts ushering us out of the studio.
"Okay, okay, what's the plan?" I ask either one of them.
"We're celebrating you, so what do you want to do?" Hailee asks me.
"Oh, uh, well. Honestly, I'd be cool with ordering food and chilling at your place."
"Y/N! That is not celebrating!" Flo exclaims.
"It is if we get something fancy!" Hailee defends me. "Y/n, you like board games, right?"
"Uh yeah, I love board games."
"Then let's get some expensive food and play board games." Hailee winks at me, and my stomach flips.
"Ooh, we should invite Taylor!" Flo says, and Hailee cuts her a glance.
"What? It'll give us even numbers!"
"But I can't tell him why we're celebrating, Flo," I look at her a little sadly.
"Oh, fine," Flo sighs and elbows me."What games are we gonna play?"
"Well, Hailee doesn't really have much of a selection."
"Then we'll stop at your place and get some! I've always wanted to see your game collection," Hailee offers, and I quickly run through every reason to say no.
"Oh, it's ok," I start, but Flo cuts me off.
"Oh yes, I'd love to see that POP collection Taylor told me about, too." And now I have to tell them.
"Uh, well, my roommate doesn't know who I work for, so."
"Why not?" Hailee asks.
"Because they'd nag me for details about you and I don't want to jeopardize my job," I shrug. "It's fine, we'll just play something you have."
"Ugh, I wish you'd have taken me up on my offer to stay at my place," Hailee groans. Flo's eyebrow shoots up.
"Oh yes, and risk losing my home as well as my job in the event you fire me? No thank you." I defend myself.
"You and your backup plans and safety nets." She shakes her head. "We're going to your place, and if your roomie can't stop asking you questions, you can move in with me," She winks.
"Hailee." I feel my face flushing.
"Y/n." Her tone suggests no arguments, so I let it go and just hope Alex isn't home.
By the time we get there, the chances are slim that Alex will be out and I can feel my nerves ramping up. I lead them up to my apartment and unlock the door, straining to hear some kind of clue to the whereabouts of my roomate.
"You're home early!" I hear them shout, then as they come out of the kitchen, they audibly gasp.
"Hey, Alex, I'm spending the night at my boss's house, just came to grab some stuff on the way." I try for nonchalance.
"That's!" They fumble, "And! Holy shit, y/n!" They struggle to get any coherent thoughts out, and Flo steps forward.
"Hi, I'm Florence, she/her. That's Hailee, also she/her. And you are?"
"Uh A-Alex. They/them. Um, y/n, can I speak to you for a moment?"
"Yeah." They pull me forcibly into the kitchen.
"You've been sitting on this info for six fucking months? You work for queer icon Hailee Steinfeld and you kept it a secret?"
"Uh, yes." I feel my cheeks getting warm at the thought of the sheer multitude of secrets I've been keeping.
"You don't- oh my god, you have feelings for queer icon Hailee Steinfeld?" They hiss.
"What are you talking about?"
"It's obvious."
"I doubt that, as it isn't true."
"Keep telling yourself that, hon."
"Alex, I have to go. We can talk about this when I come home." I know they won't forget, but I still hope they do.
"Oh, we will." Fuck. I herd Hailee and Flo around the apartment as quickly as I can, enduring teasing at my collections, and whisk them back out the door. When we get back in the car, Hailee bursts into laughter.
"What?" I look at her.
"Queer Icon? Is that what the people call me?" I blanch as I realize she overheard at least part of what Alex said to me.
"Uh, is that all you heard?" I stammer out.
"Why? You hiding things from me, y/n?" She jokes, but I'm feeling nervous, so I don't laugh as genuinely as I try to. "Can I even be a queer icon?"
"I mean, you played one of the most famous queer poets of all time, so yes?" I look at her, bewildered.
"Plus," Flo starts, then stutters, “uh, nothing.”
“Plus what?” I ask, confused.
“Plus, I am queer.” Hailee says, and my world comes crashing to a halt. Oh. Oh no, she was supposed to be completely unattainable. I mean, I'll not fool myself into thinking that she's attainable now, but there's a minute possibility that I really didn't need to feed my hopes. I think Hailee is saying something else to Flo, but I can't hear it. I think I must look as shell shocked as I feel because Hailee looks at me sincerely and puts her hand on my knee.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Uh yeah, yeah, I'm alright. Just, uh, surprised I didn’t know," I lie, not as convincingly as I'd like to.
"Okay. What do you want to eat?" She asks me.
"Oh, I don't really know. Whatever you think is good celebration food," I shrug her off and check my phone, which proves to be an even worse idea than looking at her, because I've just received the preview photos from the Vogue shoot. I hesitate to open the email, but it's right there, so I do. And I gasp. Out loud. The photos are absolutely stunning. The water on her skin, the fabric clinging to her, and the light bouncing off - I get goosebumps. She looks incredible. I realize she's still holding my knee, and they're both looking at me, and my face gets red. I scroll to the end of the email to see a personal note from one of the photography assistants.
~Thought you might really enjoy this forward if your face while we were shooting was any indication.~
There's another photo attached, this one of me when they were shooting the pool photos. I look absolutely enamored, with my jaw slack and my eyes glued to Hailee. Oh shit. I quickly close the attachment before she can see it and clear my throat.
"Uh, the Vogue preview just came in." I say to her.
"Oh? Let me see!" Hailee puts her hand out for my phone.
"I'll uh, I'll pull them up on the computer when we get to your place." She nods and looks out the window as Flo leans into me.
"So, when do you wanna talk about that last photo?" She whispers. I am so fucked.